No Rest for the Wicked
by Jane's Rage
Summary: Bella is too busy to notice the life of her sister, Alice. At a group outing, Bella's findings rock her to the core and lead her to see her selfish ways. Will she be able to correct the wrongs or is it too late?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: There is nothing funny or enjoyable about the content that you are about to read. I wrote this because it was the only way that I felt I could sensibly deal with recent findings of people that I hold dear to me. You have been told.**

**Stephenie Meyer owns the characters. I merely use them.  
**

The news reports and psychological essays have it wrong. The mind of a killer isn't necessarily fascinating. Mine is rather dull, if I could be quite frank. All that I've been able to think about for the last four years, six months and nine days is one man.

No.

He doesn't even deserve the honor of being called a man.

This… insect.

This insignificant, measly, little insect that almost cost me more than I'd ever willingly pay.

When my sister Alice first started dating Mike Newton, I'll admit, I was a little hesitant. He just seemed too old for her and far too serious for her natural bubbly state. He rarely ever smiled and he damn sure never showed excitement over anything. My longtime boyfriend, Edward, assured me that Mike was an alright dude.

"He's ok, Bells. He's just a laidback kind of guy," he'd said.

"I don't know, Edward. Something about him seems... off. He's too quiet."

"He'll be good for Alice. Maybe he can balance out her high energy," he chuckled. "Keep her from bouncing off the walls so much."

Had I known the truth, I would have _never _let Alice anywhere near him.

In the first couple months that they dated, everything seemed fine. Although quiet, Mike was cordial at all times around Dad and me. He wasn't at the house much; always whisking Alice away on a date or back to his place to hang out. I was so busy juggling school, work, Edward, and squeezing in time for my best friend Jasper that I never really took the time to get to know Mike.

They had been together for five months when I saw her first bruise. I was lying on the couch reading the latest great vampire novel by Octavia E. Butler when Alice breezed into the house. Being the ball of energy that she is, she nearly whizzed right past me until I grabbed her arm to stop her movement. Once she had, I saw that right above my hand's grasp, she had a small, roundish, swamp green and eggplant purple bruise.

"What the fuck is that Alice?" I demanded.

"Relax, Bella. It's nothing," she'd assured me.

Alice relayed to me that she had been getting ready for a night out with her best friend, Rosalie. The abrupt ring of Alice's cell had startled her as she was styling her hair and she bumped into the edge of the counter in our bathroom.

Her face had looked so earnest when she told me what happened. Honestly, Alice is small enough that a counter comes up to just below her elbow: the bruise very well could have been a self-caused accident. I left it alone and returned back to my book like an oblivious idiot.

My first and only red flag to something darker going on occurred when the group of us went out to a local diner together.

Finals for the semester had just ended and everyone wanted to wind down with a celebratory night at the local hotspot, Mad Hatters. Alice told me that Mike was finishing up his last exam that evening but he would meet up with us when he finished. She rode with Edward and me but there was a distant feel to her the entire drive there. I'd assumed that it was because she was sitting in the back with Jasper.

Jasper is my absolute best friend in the entire world. We had practically grown up together. From the moment he offered his last Nutter Butter to me in the second grade, we were tied together like shoelaces.

Over the years, he had developed a longstanding crush on Alice. Being that he was older than her, and me for that matter, Jasper had been initially terrified to tell me that he was interested in my little sister. Much to his surprise, it didn't bother me one bit. I knew he was an outstanding guy and my sister would've been lucky to have him. I made it known that I was undisturbed by the news but I also clued him in to the deal: I am not the go-between. If you want to see my sister, take it up with her because I will say nothing.

Jasper was too afraid of the rift he'd create if Alice didn't return his affections so he tried (and failed) to keep it to himself. That didn't make the situation more comfortable, as Jasper had a certain… intensity about himself.

He had a tendency to constantly stare at Alice, not realizing that he was doing so, or the creep factor that he at times gave off. I'd been forced to slap him on numerous occasions to break the Alice-induced trance he would fall into. Always, he'd give a sheepish smile to me and a quiet apology to her.

She'd never admit it, but I think she was rather smitten with his devotion to her, even while she had Mike. When no one was looking, I'd catch her glancing at him as well, reassuring to me that my sister had similar if not the same feelings for Jasper.

He had tried to start a conversation with her on the way to Mad Hatters but Alice distractedly stared out the window, not saying a word or even acknowledging that anyone was in the car with her. To end that, I reached back and placed my index finger in her nose. That of course sent Alice off on a tirade about how immature I was and how she could smell my "Bella-germs". When she stopped fuming, she joined in our boisterous laughter and all was right again.

Mad Hatters was packed when we pulled up. Apparently, Karaoke Thursdays had become a big hit almost instantly with the 25 and under crowd.

We managed to squeeze into a side booth off to the right of the makeshift stage. Alice had hooted excitedly, startling the passing waitress when one of her classmates belted along to Amy Winehouse's "Rehab" in eerie accuracy.

After we'd ordered and received our drinks, the night only became more fun as people loosened up.

Alice and I had jumped on stage to sing "Wanna be my Lover" by Spice Girls. Edward struggled to keep his laughter in as I blundered through the speedy verses. Jasper didn't even try, breaking out into a full on belly laugh while Alice pranced across the stage, kicking the air in true Sporty Spice fashion.

We were having a fantastic time when Mike finally showed up. Jasper was mocking Edward's version of Joey Ramone in "I Wanna Be Sedated" when Mike settled into the booth with us. He gave a curt nod in our directions as we lightly acknowledged him, still laughing at Jasper's jokes. Alice quieted down as soon as Mike took his seat beside her. I don't know why but I felt an odd tension as I looked over at him. Alice ragged on me before about not trying to get to know Mike so in an effort to be a good sister, I asked him about his last final.

"Ugh, it was alright. Glad it's over," he grunted before hailing a waitress for a drink.

He said nothing more and I looked at him closely. The way his hands were neatly folded one atop the other belied the tense look he had in his eyes. Clearly he was upset about something.

Alice popped up from her seat in that moment. "Come sing with me, Mike," she squealed, pushing him lightly so he'd get up and take her to the stage.

Mike declined, sighting that he didn't do karaoke. Alice pleaded, saying they could do something easy or even one of those Jay-Z songs he liked so much. Mike didn't answer that time, taking a sip of the Heineken our waitress had brought him. Alice tried to push him from the booth again. When he didn't budge, she huffed out, "fine", and tried to climb over him to get out. Mike reached out and clasped his hand around her wrist, stopping her in her tracks. She let out a shocked gasp that finally sprung me to action.

I shot up in my seat to protest but before I could get a word out, Jasper was in his face.

" What the fuck do you think you're doing,?" Edward asked at the same time that I did. I ran to Alice's side and pulled Mike's fingers from around her wrist. I massaged it with my own hand and asked her if she was alright. Her eyes were as big as saucers but she looked more through me than at me as she answered a distant, yes.

I turned to verbally lay into Mike but found him getting a rather heated dressing down from Jasper. If there was anything in the world that pissed Jasper off more than a woman in trouble, it was _Alice_ in trouble.

"So you think you're a big fucking man? Grabbing a girl like that? You could have broken her damn wrist," Jasper seethed. They were so close that if the situation were different, they could have been sharing an Eskimo kiss.

"I suggest you get out of my face, dude," Mike replied icily, not flinching one bit.

"I don't think I'm gonna do that. You need to apologize to Alice," Jasper growled. Our booth had started to gain looks from the other diners but I don't think any of us cared.

Except maybe Alice.

She had pulled her wrist from my hand and was clutching it against her stomach. She was looking at the ground and in that moment, she looked so small. I knew everything and in that instant.

I was beyond mad.

I was raging.

"You stupid son of a bitch," I yelled, heaving with all my might to push Jasper out of the way. I stepped in front of Mike and put my finger in his face. "You make me sick you big, dumb, fucking oaf. I didn't pay attention before but I see it now. I want you nowhere near my sister. If I even _think _you've been around her, I won't hesitate to _end you._"

"Bella, don't you think," Edward started. I cut him off without even looking in his direction.

"Edward, lets go!" I yelled. Mike had a smug expression on his face as I grabbed Alice along the waist and walked out of the diner to the car. Jasper stayed to probably threaten him further, as he was the last to make it to the car. Edward opened the front door to his Volvo for me but I didn't get in, instead opening the back door for Alice and ushering her in before following behind her and sitting in the backseat. Jasper slammed the front door shut after sitting down. He was still a scary shade of red but I couldn't quite care as I took inventory of my sister, finally seeing her for the first time in months.

Alice looked a bit disheveled but after all the pushing around that just happened, it was in order. She leaned against the door and didn't say a word. I was fucking fuming.

"How many times, Alice?"

When she didn't answer me, I screeched again, "How many fucking times?!"

She didn't utter a word. I was about to lose it when I saw a parade of tears roll down her face. I flew from my seat and clutched her in my arms, crying along with my sister, my sobs ruining the silence of the ride home. When we arrived at the house, Alice said nothing. She merely unwrapped herself from my arms and got out of the car. She was inside before I even moved.

I was so angry in that moment. Angry at Edward for saying Mike was an ok guy. Angry at Jasper for not being man enough to ask her out before. Angry at myself for not seeing the signs that were right in front of my face.

"Bella," Edward started.

I didn't let him finish before I got out of the car. I walked around to his window and leaned down.

"I've gotta go inside, Edward," I said quietly.

"I'll come in with you," he offered.

"No. You just go home," I replied emotionlessly. I looked over to Jasper and before I even had to say anything, he was out of the car and walking to the front door. I kissed Edward on the forehead and turned away from the car.

Once inside, I found Jasper at the kitchen table by himself. I sat down next to him, leaning against his shoulder. We sat in silence for a while, processing the happenings of the night. When I couldn't stew any longer, I broke the silence.

"How did I not see that, Jazz?" I asked, wiping a stray tear on the sleeve of my coat that I had yet to remove.

"I don't think anyone did, Bella," he replied softly. "I knew I didn't like the dude but I didn't know there was a legitimate reason why."

"My sister. My own fucking sister and I didn't even see it," I sobbed, covering my mouth with my hand to keep from alerting Alice. Jasper turned and wrapped his arms around me, letting me sob my guilt into his chest.

We stayed that way for a while before I gathered myself enough to push away from him.

"I need to go check on her. She needs a hug a lot more than I do," I weakly joked.

After promising to call him later, I let Jasper out the front door and walked up the stairs to the silent house. I had no clue what to say to my sister. She'd been a part of an obviously unhealthy relationship and I'd let it go on right under my nose. What kind of horrible sister had I become?

I knocked on her door lightly. When Alice didn't reply, I pushed the door in slowly and saw her sitting on her bed, back towards me, as the stared at her window. I sat beside her and said nothing, wishing desperately to soak up all the hurt that I knew was running through my sister at the moment. She didn't move or say anything for nearly twenty minutes until she grabbed my hand and held it in her lap. A few minutes later, she broke the silence.

"I didn't really know what to do," she whispered. "The first time he grabbed me, he said that he was sorry. He just wanted to shut me up. I- I guess I was talking too much." Alice started to sob and all I could do was grab her in my arms and stroke her back. I wanted to cry, and yell and kill all in that same moment but I knew that Alice needed me and I'd be damned if I'd drop the ball twice. "It's ok now. It's over and I'll be alright," Alice stated, pushing back to look in my face. I smiled at her, although it couldn't have been a very happy one.

"Good," was all I could say.

The next morning, Alice had some errands to run. I was wiped out from sitting up with her all night watching movies so I let her go by herself. It must have been a sign of my age because Alice had been up and about flitting from room to room, where I was still in bed feeling groggy and slightly waterlogged.

I caught a couple more hours of sleep before finally deciding to join the land of the living. Dad had once again snuck in and out of the house, that time to go fishing. Naturally, he was long gone by the time I moseyed into the kitchen. I put together a bowl of cereal only to find a note tacked to the refrigerator door.

_We're out of milk. Unless you want to use my soy, fix yourself some toast. I'll be home in an hour with the groceries. Be ready for the mall. Heart you,_

_ Alice_

I gagged a bit, thinking about the disgusting taste of that soy crap she poured over her Cap'n Crunch Berries.I settled for a toasted PB & J sandwich while I waited.

Alice told me the night before after we moved to lighter conversation that there was a sale at Anthropologie that she didn't want to miss. I was no fool but if retail therapy was what my sister needed to deal with the recent goings on of her life, I'd be there right along with her.

When I looked at the clock to see that it was 1:30, I was antsy. Alice's note said that she'd be home in an hour and I read the message over two hours ago. I'd sent her a text when I first found it but the most recent text of "**where are you?" **was not returned. It was very well within the realm of possibilities that Alice could have run into a friend at the store but with the recent events, I had a creeping feeling in my body that I couldn't shake.

Dad didn't have a cell phone so I wrote him a note and placed it on the fridge next to Alice's that merely read,

_We need to talk _

_B_

Even if it was all over, the time had come that I should speak with Dad about Mike and his violent tendencies.

That thought made me shudder so badly that I had to grip the back of a chair to stay standing. Mike hadn't attempted to follow us out of Mad Hatters after the blowup and he didn't call her at all that night. He knew that they were over, right?

I tried her cell once more and when I didn't get an answer, I'd made up my mind. I called Jasper on my way out the door.

"Jazz. I think I need your help. Alice went out to the store this morning and she isn't back yet," I said into the phone while stepping into my truck.

"Tell me where to go and I'll meet you there," he answered, no questions asked. That was the kind of best friend I had and I loved him infinitely more for it. After all this shit, I'd be his champion to Alice forever. I told him which grocery store she would have likely gone to and he hung up the phone to tie his shoes.

I called Edward but when his voicemail picked up, I didn't even bother to leave a message. I hung up the phone and tried to focus on the road. I told myself that nothing was wrong. Alice just lost track of time or found some sale to go to between the store and home.

Before I knew it, I'd pulled up into the parking lot of the closest grocery store. It was pretty packed considering that it was a weekday but crowded markets were the least of my worries.

Jasper pulled up next to me before I even stepped out of the truck. I opened my door and he was all business.

"There's a lot of people here but let's scan the parking lot for her Beetle before we do anything else," Jasper said. His voice was soft but there was no hesitance in it. He was in soldier mode then, no doubt a byproduct of his father's past military experience and style of child raising.

"Alright. I'm going to take the left end of the parking lot: you take the right," I replied, already walking away from him. "Call me if you see anything," I yelled over my shoulder to him.

I half-walked, half-jogged to the end of the parking lot. Being thorough was the only way that I could grasp at some semblance of sanity. My mind was conjuring up all sorts of scenarios as to where my sister was. I hated to even own up to them but the sinking feeling in my stomach told me that something simply wasn't right. I scanned the first two rows and got nothing. When I reached the third, I saw a white Beetle and called Jasper before I even reached it.

"I've found it, Jazz. It's right-" I stopped. "It's not her car. There's no Power Puff Girls decal in the window," I choked.

"Pull it together, Bella," he said in that same soft but stern voice. There was a beat of silence before he spoke again. "I see it. Her car's right here. Come back this way."

I hung up the phone and sprinted recklessly through the parking lot. It was no longer a feeling: I KNEW that something was wrong. Alice hated grocery shopping and would never spend more time than needed there.

I stopped once I got close enough to register the look on Jasper's face. There was a basket of groceries perched next to the open trunk of her car. They looked undisturbed sitting there, waiting to be put away.

There was a container haphazardly lying on the asphalt.

It was the first time I ever cried over spilled milk.

**A/N: There will be one more chapter to this and it will be finished. Be patient with me as I have to deal with this in my own way. Review if you'd like but I'm not going to beg you for them.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This is the final chapter of No Rest for the Wicked. Thank you for being patient with me as I am three days behind schedule. The two of you who reviewed and the few others that added this to their alerts or favorites, I thank you very much. I think I did a fair job at keeping the gory details to a minimum. **

**Stephenie Meyer owns. I do not.  
**

_THEN_

_I had no recollection of the events that took place from Jasper finding __Alice__'s abandoned car to us arriving at the hospital. Maybe it was the shock or the disbelief. All I knew was that before I could process it, I was standing outside of a hospital room arguing with some nameless, faceless doctor about not being allowed to see my sister. _

_Incidentally, I must have been at a point of near hysteria because Dr. Cullen, Edward's father, swooped in to take over for his incompetent colleague._

_None of the words he said made sense. My sole focus was on reaching who lay on the other side of the wall. Dr. Cullen sidestepped in front of me as I moved to go inside._

_"Bella-", he said in his freakishly-calm tone. I disregarded the hand that he put up in an effort to stop me._

_"Dr. Cullen. That is my sister in there," I stated with a voice that sounded foreign to me. "Please-," I whispered, my eyes pleading the words that I couldn't finish. He offered a sad smile before moving his hand to my shoulder, stepping out of the way. I gathered a large breath and took a step into the room._

_The first bit of data my senses picked up was the smell. On top of the over-sterile hospital smell, I could make out the rusted metal smell of blood and also a fair amount of dirt. What the hell happened to her?_

_My eyes darted to __Alice__ and I crumbled._

_My sister appeared to be unconscious. Before I could ask, Dr. Cullen whispered to me over my shoulder._

_"She's being sedated, Bella."_

_That should have calmed me, being as though I initially feared her to be in a coma. I couldn't take any small amount of joy from that revelation at all. I felt sick to my stomach as I stepped closer to the bed to look over her. _

_Alice__ lay mostly on her back but slightly turned away from me. From the gap in her gown, I could see that her back was covered in what appeared to be road rash. Peeking over the top of her hospital gown and blending mostly back around to the scarring on her back was a mass of angry eggplant colored skin. Her right arm was in a cast from her bruised wrist up to her elbow._

_Tears blurred my vision as I stumbled to the other side of the bed to see her face. _

_My sister's beautiful face. _

_There was another bruise on the side of her mouth paired with a cut that marred her thin lower lip. On her temple, flowing back into her hair was a dried bit of blood._

_Without permission, my body gave out and I sank, only to be caught by Jasper before I hit the tile. I didn't hear him come into the room but that was to be expected. I had been too involved in looking over the devastating state of my sister._

_ Jasper led me back to a chair as I looked from __Alice__'s still form into his eyes. A trail of tears slid down from his left eye. Before I could stop myself, an agonized sob escaped my lips. I knew that I should have tried to be quiet but I simply couldn't control the heaviness that I felt within my chest. It was as if the bruises and scars, the pain, were my own. _

_They are my own. _

_The same blood that coursed through my veins had been spilled from my sister's body. In that instant, I was resolved that this devastation would not go unreturned. _

_I steeled myself and rose to walk out of the too small room. Jasper stayed behind with __Alice__ as I was met by my solemn father and the arresting officers in the hall. It didn't take a chemical engineer to know who had caused this. Mike's silence following the events of the night before was too favorable to have been real. _

_He had been apprehended in the parking lot after he tried to force __Alice__ into his truck. From what the report detailed, Mike had confronted her in the lot and when she wouldn't speak, he attempted to make her leave with him. __Alice__ put up a struggle but Mike's mass paired with his uncontrolled anger easily overpowered her. I almost threw up when the officer reported that Mike had dragged her by her feet a few yards across the asphalt. That explained the road rash. _

_A teen boy was sitting in his mother's van and witnessed the attack. He hurriedly called 911 and stopped Mike in his tracks with a tire iron to the outside of his left knee. The ambulance and police came shortly after while Mike writhed on the asphalt, clutching his leg._

_I shuddered, thinking how close we had been to losing __Alice__. Had it not been for the bravery of the boy, who knows what would have happened to her? _

_I have never felt a rage in my life like the one I endured while staring upon __Newton__'s blank face at his court hearing several weeks later. The bastard pled guilty, a no-brainer decision advised to him by his family lawyer. _

_As he was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs, I couldn't fight the scowl that marred my face. Prison was too good for him. No, Mike Newton deserved much worse._

_NOW_

It is raining something wicked as I wait in my car. The prison looks ominous with the constant downpour blackening the surrounding sky. I've been glued to the same spot for three hours but I'd been waiting for over four years and seven months for this day.

A lot has happened all around in that time.

_THEN_

_Jasper and __Alice__ started dating before the flesh even healed on her back. He was a Godsend in that time. Jasper sat with her for hours before and after she was released from the hospital. They'd barely even speak aloud but were always huddled close, joined together at the forehead. When they did speak, it was in hushed tones that no one else could hear. Weeks after the accident when Dad had to go back to work, Jasper was still there with __Alice__ nearly around the clock. The couch had a Jasper-sized dip in it from his constant presence. _

_I made up my mind to take some time off from school. Between taking care of Alice while she healed and also dealing with the emotional stress and guilt that I carried after the ordeal, school was no place for me. I took a break from work and a week later when they demanded that I return, even when I stated that I wasn't ready yet, I quit. Alice became my number one priority, as she should have been before this happened. _

_Alice__ didn't seem to mind the constant presence from either Jasper or me. She wasn't bouncing off the walls just yet but day by day, her demeanor started to revert back to that of her happier self. Her bruises faded with time but the giant scrape on her back turned into an ugly scar that spanned nearly half the length of her. For the first three months after it healed, she would cry every time she saw it in the mirror. _

_One Tuesday while the three of us were home, I heard __Alice__ weeping in her room. I was about to walk in and ask her what was wrong when I stopped in the doorway. __Alice__'s shirt was off as she sat in her vanity chair. Jasper stood up beside her and asked what the problem was._

_"It's never going to leave. I'll never be able to wear my favorite shirts anymore or any of my cute dresses. He took my security away and left this hideous scar as a reminder. I'll always look at my back and remember that I wasn't strong enough." she softly sobbed._

_"__Alice__," Jasper said while locking her gaze through the mirror. "Fuck that. Fuck Mike Newton and fuck this, 'you weren't strong enough' business. You have to be the toughest person I've ever met. Even more so because of the tiny package you come in." I saw __Alice__ crack a sad smile at his words. "You were in a bad situation with an even worse man and you survived," he pressed, gripping her shoulders. "You made it out of a situation that could have killed you and you're still you, __Alice__. You may be a little banged up but you are still the same beautiful, lively girl that I've been in love with all this time. Nothing is going to change that."_

_I left the doorway after those words. It didn't feel right to impose on their private moment. If I didn't know it before, I then could say that Jasper was the best person for my sister. He would help her in ways that I couldn't; love her beyond what I could offer. He'd heal her where the pain ran deeper than she'd let me know about. I'd be forever grateful to him for that._

_I was in no state to be of assistance to anyone. For all the pain and guilt that I carried, Mike Newton may as well have dragged me across a paved parking lot. _

_Alice__ would share the bed with me most nights. When she wasn't beside me, I would have nightmares of a tiny body being battered almost beyond recognition and then left in some nondescript section of a dense forest. It was as if my mind would conjure what would have been, had that boy not been there to intercept. _

_After I shared my nightmare with __Alice__, she suggested that I try speaking with someone for the trauma I had suffered. Picture that, my sister was battered by her ex-boyfriend and she thought I should be in therapy**.** _

_She was probably right but it seemed wrong for her to be fine and I was the one that needed help._

_Months went by and we both grew better. __Alice__ had Jasper and she was back to her normal self. I was alone but ok, being that I broke up with Edward shortly after __Alice__ left the hospital. _

_Unjustly, I was angry with him for saying that Mike Newton was a good guy. He pleaded with me but I couldn't stand the sight of him. _

_After the smoke settled, I realized that wasn't an acceptable reason for breaking up with him. In retrospect, I didn't have the time or energy to be with anyone those days. He came to visit and called a lot but after never getting an answer, I assume that he gave up._

_NOW_

After a few more hours, I finally see movement. A black sedan pulls up to the gate at the same time that it opens. An armed officer escorts Mike Newton off the premises and secures the gate behind him.

An older woman jumps out of the car to hug the monster. She must be his mother. Only a mother could love such a person and still call herself a woman.

They unwrap from one another and hurriedly step into the car, more than likely due to the Arctic-cold rain. The car pulls off shortly after. I wait a bit before I follow suit.

The car heads to what I presume to be the Newton house.

After a few hours of waiting, I see Mike in his old truck, taking off alone. If I know him, he's headed to a bar for a drink and probably some female companionship. I can imagine that the other inmates gave him a warm welcome. Four years and seven months is a long time to be someone else's bitch.

Newton walks into Rusty's Bar and after he's already settled in, I follow. I can't imagine that he'd recognize me with all the changes that I've undergone: shortened, black-dyed hair, weight loss from the lack of sleep or desire to eat, and grey contacts. Just in case he does, I wait on the opposite end of the bar.

He's making this easy on me. I don't even think it'll be necessary to drug him with all the shots of whiskey that he orders. By glass number nine, I feel confident that I can approach him without caution.

"Hey there, handsome," I whisper in his ear. I move back just in time to not be smacked in the face by his head as he whirls around to see who has spoken to him. His eyes are glassy as they try to assess me. I see no recognition in them and know that I'm safe.

"Heeeeello," Newton slurs. His breath is strong enough to make me rock back a bit. I gather myself quickly to continue.

"How about you come home with me?"

"With pleasure," he says while giving me a look-over. He fumbles while trying to stand.

Once he rights himself, Newton throws some money on the bar and slings his heavy arm over my shoulder. Luckily he can't see me wince from the pressure of his weight. He doesn't deserve the satisfaction.

He is too drunk to attempt small talk and I am ever thankful for that. The less interaction between us, the better**_._** I have to steer him in the direction of my rental car but he gets in easily, only bumping his head once. I may have had something to do with that but really, who cares?

I turn the radio on to make ignoring him that much easier. "Psychotic Girl" by The Black Keys is playing. I have to smirk at how ironic that is in my situation. Yes, I have been a little psychotic in the last few years but I will get my peace tonight.

The vermin is asleep before I even pull up to the cabin that I haven't been to since I was still a youth. A slap with a little more force than necessary wakes him up and I am again forced to deal with his arm being slung over my shoulder.

Inside the cabin, I offer him a seat while I fix us both drinks. Newton tries his best at sloppy flirting but I pay him no mind.

After a while of faking attentiveness, I approach Newton in his chair. He gropes me once I am within reach. The prick thinks he is going to get lucky but I have other plans.

I kiss him forcefully. It is rough to the point of causing pain but I really don't think Newton cares very much. I break away from the kiss, the kiss of death, and tell him that I need to make myself more comfortable. He offers to help but I decline, stating that I'll change and come right back.

In the room, I reach for the duffle bag that I brought over yesterday. There is no hesitation as I grab the gelid, heavy metal piece in my hands. He deserves this. i will not back out.

Mike's back is to me as I emerge quietly from the room. He also apIears to have dozed off again. This would be ideal except I refuse to give him the satisfaction of being attacked from behind.

"Newton," I call. He stirs slightly but doesn't totally wake. "Michael Newton you piece of shit, wake up!" I yell. This rouses him. He turns in his seat and sees me with the weighted Louisville slugger gripped in my hands. Fear registers in his eyes but I'm much faster in my sober state.

I slam the bat into the same knee that my little sister's savior hit with the tire iron all those years ago.

Newton crumbles on the ground in a hail of curses. A laugh is all that I can offer him back. Staring in to my eyes, he pushes himself up from the ground and gracelessly plops back into the chair with a groan.

Without another word, I swing the bat again.

I don't stop until his renewed curses cease and I can no longer raise my arms.

Tonight, I'll dream of a _large_ body, battered beyond recognition, left in a cabin in a nondescript part of the woods.

It will surely be the best sleep I've had in years.


End file.
